#the main character powers are literally dragging him into position

[chocmarss]

When Din fell into the waters I was all, my god he’s being pulled by a tentacled monster. But no, actually, he just slipped over moldy rocks and sank like one to the bottom. Man weighs like a ton or two from how fast he went there. Bo-Katan literally had to jetpacked her way through her old and unfortunately occupied swimming pool to get him.

[bookshelfdreams]

That is certainly - a statement.

What about Jim, who both metaphorically and literally discovers a path for themself beyond what they were raised to be? What about Pete, who learns to overcome his toxic masculinity, his posturing and self-importance? What about Ed, whose entire story is about deconstructing the performance that is expected of him?

What about, oh, idk, our main fucking character Stede Bonnet, whose arc starts with him literally breaking out from the hetero marriage he was forced into despite never fitting in? Who tries (and initially fails) to build a community where he can be himself? Whose entire story is about discovering his own queerness! He starts out not even able to put a finger on WHY his marriage made him feel so suffocated, and then journeys through s1 until he reaches the emotional climax - "His name is Ed"!

Contrast that with Izzy, who has to be dragged into a supportive community kicking and screaming. Who rejects care and compassion, even at his worst, who has to be forced to accept help. He receives the leg and calls the crew a homophobic slur for it, ffs. Only after that, only when people refuse to let him push them away, is he able to poke his nose into something approaching positive human connections. And that's a powerful narrative, sure, in it's own way; but it's hardly the Ultimate Queer Experience, and it's definitely not the "only queer arc".

And Izzy never lets go of the old ways. He never abandons the Blackbeard-era pirate lifestyle for something more positive, not fully. And that's okay, because ultimately, his arc isn't even about himself.

It's about Ed.

Ed keeps repeating toxic relationship patterns, and Izzy is a part of that. He's linked (on purpose, and I wish it had been done more explicitly) to Ed's father; because Izzy represents the poison that was instilled in Ed from a young age, and that has become so entrenched in his system that he can't imagine a life without it. He keeps Izzy around despite being hurt by him because Izzy is predictable, and in that, is safe, even though he hurts Ed; at least it's a hurt Ed is familiar with and can rely on.

When Izzy slowly changes it's to show that Ed is growing beyond the little voice in his head telling him to reject softness, that he can never be loved, that We're just not these kinds of people. If Izzy can evolve from someone spitting boyfriend at Ed like it's a slur to someone congratulating him on getting laid by that same person, Ed can overcome his inner demons telling him the same thing.

That's the point of Izzy's arc. And this is why he has to die, because Ed can never be truly free as long as Izzy is around. So Izzy goes, quietly, peacefully, and releases Ed of the poison; apologizes to him, tells him I was so wrong, and I am so sorry, because that's what Ed needs to hear to move forward.

And that's such a kind, positive way to end the story of Izzy Hands.

[ravensvirginity]

Titans #15 Review

Oh my god. Where do I even begin.

To start with my one and only positive: the art is gorgeous. Lucas Meyer is the best artist the Titans have had in ages, and his new Raven design really delivered. I'm so sad that it appears that the artist who'll be taking over for him in #16 is undoing his design changes, I think it's a massive shame. I did appreciate the detail of Raven's white cloak design having rings on her index fingers, but it feels a little pointless without the lore of Azar's rings to back it up.

Now, the negatives: literally everything else about this comic. This comic fails to deliver on an eight issue arc in any kind of satisfying way, has a bizarre and out of character tone, and severely misunderstands the lore of its main villain. They literally defeated Trigon with the power of friendship. Maybe that could work in Teen Titans Go, but in a main timeline DC comic? What?

First, the demon Raven stuff. Gar saying that demon Raven and regular Raven aren't two different people--yeah, obviously. The severe degree of separation between demon Raven and regular Raven has been one of the big issues of this arc, and this conclusion is as unsatisfying as the rest of it. Raven and her demon side being able to talk face to face isn't new, but them being two separate people with separate physical bodies who can operate completely independently of each other--while there is some precident for this, to me it's a very strange writing choice and misses the point of a demon Raven arc.

The original idea of Raven and her demon side was that her demon side is her. It's all the worst instincts she inherited from Trigon locked up and carefully controlled. When Trigon takes control of her and turns her into her demon form, everything she's repressed, both good and bad, is released. Raven still having a soft spot for the Titans in her demon form makes sense; she's still Raven, just corrupted by Trigon into something she isn't. Raven deciding to stop being evil (not that she even really was) and going back to normal from one brief conversation with her teammate does not, and is really anticlimactic.

It's just such a waste of the story's potential. If you don't want to commit to Raven being the villain of the story, don't do a demon Raven arc! It's possible to do a Trigon story without Raven being evil, I don't get why they didn't just do that. None of the drama with Raven being evil was particularly well executed, and all it seemed to do was drag the comic on longer and longer with nothing actually happening, because they were unwilling to make Raven actually do anything villanous.

All that pales in comparison to how they defeated Trigon. I don't think I've ever seen such blatant disregard for previous canon. As Raven, powered up by the other Titans, fights Trigon, Gar narrates as follows:

"I doubt Trigon has ever been in a fight. An actual fight. With someone his own size and power level. Never had to face someone like Nightwing one-on-one. Never tried to stand while being pinned by the power of Donna Troy's will. Never been blasted... with a giant-sized Apokoliptian blast from Cyborg. And never, ever... felt the full force of a Tamaranean hit powered by the stars."

WHAT?

This comic canonically takes place in the same timeline as the New Teen Titans. There are many homages to the New Teen Titans. It has been made very clear that the team started as the New Teen Titans, and then after many, many years of crazy comic book history the team reformed as the Titans of this run.

The first ever Trigon arc that introduces him and Raven as characters takes place in the first six issues of the New Teen Titans, and culminates in Trigon being defeated by the Titans and thrown into an interdimensional prison. I can't stress this enough: literally every single one of the things Gar said have never happened to Trigon happen in that fight. Donna uses her lasso to dampen Trigon's will, in combination with Raven and Arella's empathic abilities. Wally rips a hole through the fabric of reality to throw Trigon into, and Kory and Vic connect their powers to amplify their blasts to throw Trigon into the interdimensional rift. The whole thing is coordinated and managed by Dick Grayson (who was still Robin at the time).

Gar was there when all this happened. There is no reason for him to not know that this happened. The only explanation is Tom Taylor doesn't know, or he doesn't care. This would be disappointing for any comic book run, but it leaves an especially sour taste in my mouth for this to happen in a run that's so built on NTT homages. It's clear that the writing could not care less about the comic it was inspired by.

And then Garth causes Trigon to have a heart attack. Okay, that was just stupid. Admittedly, I did think the page of Raven stabbing Trigon was cool (again, the art is really the only saving grace here), but her saying "Fuck you, Dad"? Seriously? An ongoing problem in this run has been the dialog feeling janky and too much like lines from a generic superhero movie, and this line embodies that very well. I'm not opposed to swearing in comic books, but to me, this is not the right time for it. It doesn't fit the moment, and I think it's quite out of character for Raven, even if the sentiment behind it isn't.

And then Trigon isn't even dead? What does "Demons don't die. They just fade away." even mean?? Is he dead or not? Will he come back tomorrow or in a thousand years? It's such a strange, confusing letdown of an ending.

I didn't have high hopes for this issue, but it was somehow worse than I could ever have imagined. I'm so glad that this run is getting a new writer. Here's hoping that the coming issues will actually feel like a team book, and that the decades of lore and characterization of these beloved characters will actually be considered during writing.

[adorawasright]

Hello! I just saw ur post saying g hintlow is badly written in your opinion. Could you please tell me why you think so? I'm kinda curious?

I also didn't really like huntlow since it kinda came outta no where all of a sudden but what do you think??

*cracks knuckles* (just kidding lol)

Honestly, I just think H/untlow has several writing problems. I'll be pointing out the main reasons I think so under the cut. If anyone who follows me or comes across this post ships H/untlow, it's totally fine, just please don't send me hate for what I'll say here:

Hunter and Willow have nothing in common. The show forces the "half a witch" thing onto Hunter despite the fact he was never called that anywhere in the show, he's usually just called annoying or a brat. Besides, Hunter could be a metaphor for disability considering he doesn't have natural magic powers (until the show decided to kill off Flapjack, but I'll get into that later). However, Willow is not the case. She may not be good at abomination magic, but she's incredibly powerful with plant magic. But for some reason, the show treats these experiences as equals, even though that's a thing Hunter has more in common with Luz than Willow (and in this case I'm not talking through a romantic lens).

Hunter and Willow are out of character. Hunter, the prodigy and the emperor's right hand, becomes utterly pathetic and wimpy just so Willow can look like a badass girlboss. And Willow then just comes off as cruel sometimes. I appreciate Willow for being nice but also being a badass, but even then, Willow was never cruel prior to her meeting Hunter. She apologized to Luz when she realized she could've hurt her, and when Willow met Gus she was patient and understanding, teaching him a breathing technique to calm him down. I'm not saying Willow has to be overly nice, but she just randomly captures Hunter to make him join her flyer derby team. And at this point she doesn't even know that Hunter is the Golden Guard, so she just... attacks a random kid and scares him for no reason. Worse yet the fact that she drags him into the ground THE SAME WAY BELOS DOES in Hollow Mind. Even after Hunter tells her he's "half a witch", Willow isn't patient with him, she's just a brute again. Which is my next point:

Unhealthy power dynamic. Hunter refers to Willow as "captain", and it's honestly a red flag to me. I am NOT saying Willow is abusive. However, we have to remember that Hunter's abuser uses his position of power to mistreat him. Hunter looks up to someone who's not an equal to him and in turn, he does not value himself. And Willow never seems to realize it and explicitly say that she's not his leader, she's his friend. This pairing is basically the girlboss/malewife model, but not only does it not make sense, it's not healthy for Hunter to fall in love with someone who has power over him, and who might be paralleled to his abuser as I pointed out before.

Ruined character arcs. I think most of us agree that Hunter's character arc was unsatisfactory as he became another Caleb without ever processing it, but Willow was definitely done dirty as well. Willow never had her own episode, not even Understanding Willow was about her, it was more about Amity. Any Sport in a Storm also focuses more on Hunter. Even Gus had more character development than Willow, despite the fact he was also done dirty in the end. Willow's breakdown wasn't carefully developed, it was never hinted in Thanks to Them or anywhere before that. It came out of nowhere in For the Future, and in turn it just pushed Hunter's character (and Gus, literally) aside so he could save Willow. And this is yet ANOTHER point I hate:

Willow only reciprocates Hunter's crush when he gains powers. Seriously, for the longest time I didn't even think H/untlow was going to be mutual. Only Hunter seemed to be attracted to Willow, by blushing and being shy around her. Willow never seems to see Hunter in another light in the following episodes, not even in Thanks to Them despite them living with each other for months. That only happens in For the Future, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Like I said before, Hunter might be considered disabled, but his disability is "cured" with magic, and ONLY THEN does Willow fall for him. That contradicts the entire message of the show, which welcomes and celebrates disabilities.

And overall, Hunter and Willow never have a genuine emotional connection. Hunter has more connection and things in common with Luz, Gus, and even Amity (and sadly, his parallels with Amity were never really explored after Eclipse Lake). Hunter and Luz don't have magical powers. Hunter and Gus are both taken advantage of by others, and they have an identity crisis, not knowing how to trust themselves anymore. Hunter and Amity then, they were both raised in an abusive household and they're expected to be someone they're not, and they have to push everyone else down so they can be better. But Hunter and Willow don't share this kind of connection. They might touch on the "half a witch" thing but that never deepens. And in For the Future, it comes off as rushed, and Hunter has to push down his grief for Flapjack to save Willow. Not to mention Gus and Hunter never get to talk about Caleb - Gus always knew about Hunter's secret, and not even THAT gets a satisfying payoff because the show is more concerned in making H/untlow canon. But that would have to be its own post.

Sorry this got long, lmao. I have very strong feelings about how H/untlow was handled. I actually used to ship it at first, I think it COULD'VE worked. But they don't even seem to be close friends at the very least. It sucks because even R/aeda was written better despite the fact it had less screentime than L/umity. Sure, Eda and Raine were ex-lovers, but I thought their relationship was written very well for the most part. I don't know how the writers dropped the ball with H/untlow this way.

[confirmeddead]

Hello!

Can I ask you how you feel about the DM of it all following the season finale and the time that has passed since? If I recall correctly I think you expressed some disappointment at first, and honestly, I am really feeling a bit put off by it all right now… I would honestly be thrilled to be convinced to view it all in a more positive light

I’m just frustrated with a lot of the writing of the last few episodes and with what it may mean for the upcoming seasons. Like, the build up to s2e5 and s2e8 was incredibly but then s2e6 and s2e8 were both really anticlimactic. First the DM of it all, with Armand’s and Daniel’s interactions of s2e5 being basically only about other characters - clearly the DM of it all (their first meeting in the books etc.) was merely rewritten and adapted to provide Daniel with the motivation and clues to expose Armand for Louis’ sake. Don’t take me wrong, I loved the writing of most of Louis’ story this season (his complicated relationship with Claudia being the best part), but reducing another secondary character’s plot to only serve the main plot and characters really made me sad. As someone who really enjoys these secondary characters as well.

A lot of fans seemed okay with it after the episode (and I was too), given that it could be a good adaptation of their first meeting if and only if, DM did happened in the past following this event (or if a DM would have kicked off now in the present, but Armand turning Daniel arguably changes everything about this too much to make it a good prelude).

And now that it has become clear that there probably isn’t a past DM of which that event was a prelude I just feel empty about it. I might have felt more okay if the psychological consequences for Daniel wasn’t treated as a quick afterthought. I mean Daniel has basically one scene of being upset about the consequences of the psychological trauma before it all becomes about Armand’s deception of Louis. I literally rewatched the episode the other day and the turn is jarring. The scene of Armand “apologising” to Daniel being the only interaction explicitly about that event in the show afterwards, before Daniel fuelled by anger exposes Armand was just really strange. I do hope that Daniel’s anger at Armand for San Francisco is still a thing next season, cause otherwise this will all just fall really flat psychologically. And I just fear that it won’t be taken seriously given the writing of it in s2e6. Do you know what I mean? Am I making any sense here? I am glad that Louis’ and Daniel’s relationship was given some more depth though, so I guess there’s that.

I just really don’t know where they are going with Daniel, given how much they have changed everything now that Daniel’s already a vampire. Armand I’m not as worried about because there’s a whole long book to take inspiration from and adapt. I know it’s been said they won’t do the TVA book, but I’m pretty sure I’ve read before that they mean to tell Armand’s story as well - though probably not as it’s own season. Pretty sure AZ leaked it would be a big thing in s4.

Daniel however, only really has that one really intense DM chapter about him. And now that they’ve already turned him, a lot of what happens in it is off the table. There can’t be a Daniel who teaches and drags Armand into the human world, nor a fascinating and thrilling human-vampire relationship, nor intense fights between Daniel and Armand about immortality. Even their f*cked up and intense uneven power balance is pretty much gone now. Rolin saying they are going to do a somewhat Talk Radio version of Daniel just leaves me cold. Talk Radio already exists on screen, we don’t need another version of it. But I dunno, maybe there’s something interesting there? What do you think?

I was really intrigued to see that Daniel will make an appearance in the Talamasca show, but given the awful writing of Mayfair I’m just worried he will become a really dull Phil Coulson-esque character. Someone who exists to bind the shows together.

Regarding s2e8 I just felt it was very anticlimactic with the books falling over Daniel, after it had been hyped in probably all of the trailers - leading to absolutely nothing. And deciding they will never show Daniel’s turning, and just revealing it in a cheap horror movie twist manner, is just a decision I will probably always be upset about. I don’t knew, I just don’t have a good feeling about the upcoming seasons given the writing decisions here. Am I too worried? Hopefully so, I just feel really disappointed. Sorry for the downer ask, I just really enjoy reading your thoughts and feelings, so I just really want to hear what you think of it all. Thank you!

Hi!

Sorry for the delay in my response but let’s get into it~

First and foremost, let me answer your question- yes, initially I was disappointed with how they handled Armandaniel, but moreso Daniel’s turning and the “spite” comment. I’m sure if I were to look back at my post I’d disagree with a lot of what I said or find myself overdramatic haha

The truth is, my feelings on it have indeed changed. My understanding of them as characters and this newfound dynamic have helped with a lot of the apprehension you’re feeling. I’ll get into that in a bit.

For the writing, I understand your feelings. It’s not the first time they’ve done this. The whole Claudia and Madeleine murders were overshadowed with LESTAT SAVED LOUIS and ARMAND BETRAYED LOUIS and LOUSTAT REUNION with Claudia being almost an afterthought. Not for Louis, of course, but for the viewer and Claudia’s memory. Louis still felt it all and mourned Claudia deeply. I’m getting off track but my point is, DM was never going to be a focal point for anyone- characters or writers (I mean, they can prove me wrong!). I didn’t want to view it like this because of my love for DM and I don’t like saying that but I genuinely think it’s a fact. At least there’s Assad! DM is an afterthought.

This isn’t my critiquing of Louis or Daniel or even Lestat but of the writing that overshadowed poor Claudia. I’m not alone in this feeling.

So, my thing with Daniel is the absolute moment they cast Eric, everything for Daniel changed. It was all thrown out the window (I mean, the very few things we did have).

Them changing DM as a whole almost seems par for the course. They started from the ground up with him and for Louis, as well. But with that, I think the same level of care they gave Louis’ characterization will be given to Daniel because of this- and this is why I think they turned Daniel when they did.

Sure, it made Eric happy (I know what you are, Rolin), but they’re building the foundation for Daniel now (while Louis’ roof is being fixed (pun not intended))

Daniel’s vampirism is a stepping stone to everything he will be- and everything he and Armand will and could be. He’s gonna go into it with rockstar sunglasses and a middle finger up but it’s never that easy. I want him to need Armand and find themselves together. I think this is where their adaption of The Devil’s Minion could come.

Maybe the tender and weird past DM stuff happened, I couldn’t tell you. But if it didn’t, their story started incredibly fucked up and continues to be that (foundation, foundation). I don’t think Daniel is over what happened to him, I think he’s very much like Armand and he bottled that up and will Molotov cocktail it through Armand’s figurative window.

In all honesty, I haven’t seen Talk Radio so I can’t comment on that. But I think the weird stuff is still on the table, but it’s gonna be a little different. Armand hasn’t changed drastically, and his… mannerisms… are here to stay and use against Daniel. I’m interested to see what fucked up little relationship they do have.

And the power balance… physically, of course it’s still there but there’s a new dynamic. There’s a taut rope between them and they are tugging for the win, but it’s never that easy (and is it breaking clean in half?)

I’m excited for the Talamasca show! I’m confident Rolin and co gave them some notes or at the very least OK’d the script haha. I’d like to give some chance to the poor writers of the Talamasca show since they only have a few peas and carrots on their plate- they can do a lot at this TVC buffet (I don’t know why I’m talking like this).

Don’t feel bad about being disappointed, especially about the transformation. That I’m still bitter about… how did they fuck up the one unselfish, beautiful moment between Armand and his only fledgling, scrap it and laugh it off and and andkdfklansalknf

Okay, so maybe I’m a lotta sore about it all.

It’s OK to critique or have issues with a tv show and you’re not sounding unreasonable for wanting something of your favorite pairing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I do wholeheartedly believe they have something good up their sleeves for DM but are waiting to chuck it at the general audience who maybe has no clue what’s in store.

I did see your second ask and will respond later today

We’ll see what happens but until then…

[cheezeybread]

Back to our regularly scheduled Alice-asking with Anon McGee.

After playing the game for a few hours and getting through some stuff, I have some thoughts. None in particular for any sort of request [although, at the time of writing this specific part, I am unsure of if I'll tack one onto the beginning of this ask [I did not]. I am also unsure of if it will be related at all], but they're still interesting and maybe can be used for this stuff going forward [for as long as I keep requesting such self indulgent things].

1. Teeth are a currency. Not a whole lot to do with that one, but it is incredibly strange to me even still.

2. Many of the enemies are made visibly of this black, ink-like ooze. Not all of them, but a good majority of them. I feel this means overblots may cause additional layers of stress because of the implications it might cause [something to do with the fact that this inky substance was what corrupted Alice's wonderland, it sounds like it COULD be taken as a physical representation of that same kind of corruption, and the overblotter going literally insane. Could be good oneshot fuel?]

3. Alice is actually SUPER chill in the environment of the wonderland aside from when it's actively trying to kill her [although the reaction does not necessarily have to apply to the reader character we've been using as a stressball for these scenarios, I think it's pretty interesting and likely means that the initial reaction to the students of Heartslaybyul would be void should I have known prior to this that wonderland was actually pretty alright and fine for the most part]

4. Another minor detail that doesn't really mean a lot, but in the Hatter's domain, there's flamingos all over the place. While I was exploring, I saw several just sort of Around. In cages, hung up on walls, some- upon entry- were on those like.. Spitroasters or whatever they are. Many were on wheels being forced to run to give power to some machinery. They all looked pretty... Not alive, though. Also, they were strangely dodo shaped, but that's neither here nor there.

That's all I have for the moment regarding that! Feel free to take it and run however you want, I can't think of any specific request I can give relating to any of these except for the overblot one

Dang, this game sounds absolutely vicious, I love it XD

I need to take your mind and put it in a little glass jar filled with water to observe it (meant in a positive way). Maybe shake it around some to see what kinda scenarios pop out.

But the best I can come up with are some *. * ·imagines*. * · to keep your brain occupied for now

Imagine an MC who- in every single fight they get dragged into (which is an awful lot in the game lmao)- stays behind for a moment to collect some of the teeth punched out by spells and fists. The broken ones that are cracked aren't worth much, they say to their friends who ask what they're doing, but the whole teeth can buy you a lot of good things. Much to the horror of the Twisted Wonderland students, it's eventually realized that MC thinks that teeth are a currency here. They don't know why, but can only speculate that it's from the same issues from before... Riddle eventually ends up begging (or as close to begging as he can get-) for Azul to tell you about Twisted Wonderland's currency. Horrified yet intrigued by your grotesque idea of money, Azul teaches you about merfolk economics, as well as the thaumarks people use on land...of course, he's going to try and get you to explain the whole "teeth currency" thing to him, and what makes one tooth worth more than others.

The inky enemies would actually make for a KILLER oneshot, I might have to write something along the lines of it one day... Maybe Twisted Wonderland (or at least, the part that held the Queen of Hearts in it) and Alice's Wonderland are two sides of the same coin...? While they're both in different dimensions (maybe even parallel to one another!), they're both similar. The main difference was that Alice's Wonderland is isolated from the rest of the world, while "Twisted Wonderland" had different cultures and societies to expand with? The isolation caused some in Alice's Wonderland to "Overblot" (or, at least, some form of it) and become enemy bosses. So maybe Overblots are slightly different in each world, but they're still present!

Imagine an MC who (after having a few breakdowns at first regarding Heartslabyul) eventually calms down...to the point where everyone gets extremely worried about them. Riddle accidentally says "Off with your head!" to an unruly student within their earshot, but MC is so chill that they look...almost zoned out, their eyes glazed over. Like they're in a completely different world. As the overblots go on throughout their stay in Twisted Wonderland, MC's calm demeanor only gets worse. They don't seem to react hardly at all to- well, anything. It's like they've just accepted where they are and the danger they're in.

Mmm short and squat dodo-like flamingos. I like to think that our poor MC, after first seeing the flamingos in Heartslabyul, didn't actually see them, but saw their not-quite-alive bodies wandering around, some being roasted over a fire, others lurking ominously behind bushes, some in cages. All some form of injured or deadish. It would most definitely take a while until MC could see the creatures as they truly were (that is, alive and well, and most definitely not so creepy), but until then, they take it in stride. No one even knows how MC sees the flamingos until they offhandedly mention it one day, and Cater's just like "....no?? Why would we be roasting flamingos???"

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Fear is a huge driver of plot in Alchemy of Souls and most of it is centered around Jang Uk and Naksu. Almost every character's main motivation is fear except Naksu (revenge) and Jang Uk. (This is long)

Park Jin is terrified that Jang Uk will fulfill his destiny because his main goal is to maintain social order. He is therefore fully committed to impeding any progress Jang Uk might make. His turning point (finally) is the near death of Seo Yul, probably not because he actually loves Yul or Uk for themselves, but because as everyone acknowledges, Seo Yul being killed by Jin Mu will overturn the social order (General Seo will invade Daeho Fortress and start a war). Park Jin knows Jang Uk will try to save Yul, so he supports him.

(I'm pretty sure the only major decision he makes motivated by love is trying to save Maid Kim from Jinyowon, everything else is to preserve social order. He's extreme lawful good)

Go Won spends most of S1 trying not to be afraid of Jang Uk/the concept of a King Star, because he doesn't want to be like his father who is terrified of the prophesied King Star's existence. Jin Mu eventually succeeds in making Go Won afraid which results in Jang Uk's death (it doesn't take). But then in S2, with a Jang Uk who is 100x more terrifying, Go Won realizes that he doesn't have to be afraid because Jang Uk doesn't want to be king and will use his power protectively:

Which means that Jin Mu can no longer control Go Won through fear, as he is able to do with the king and basically everyone else.

Jin Mu definitely fears what Jang Uk might become, since he can be displaced from his position of power if Uk ever becomes a real mage.

And yet, he mostly makes other people afraid of Uk instead of really fearing Jang Uk himself. This is probably because Jin Mu believes that compassion and protection are signs of weakness. I think the only time he really believes Uk might kill him is when Seo Yul is dying. What he fears the most is being rejected by those in power, which is why when Go Won turned on him he was so angry.

The king and the Unanimous Assembly decide to release the fire bird because they both fear and envy Jang Uk and his ice stone. As for the general population, they generally fear super-powered Jang Uk but also want him around (just not like, too close) because they are more frightened of soul shifters. They both fear and idolize Naksu and are manipulated with their fear.

And to quickly include Lady Jin, her fear is centred around losing control of Jinyowon, which is why she searches so desperately for Bu-yeon, is dismissive of her under-powered second daughter, and is so determined to keep resurrected Naksu/Bu-yeon under control.

Seo Yul is complicated because he doesn't know what Jang Uk is until pretty late in the game, he mostly is afraid of what Jang Uk is doing (hanging out with a soul shifter, Naksu herself) and what his beliefs will result in (which to be fair was a legitimate fear given what happens at the end of S1). He is also afraid of breaking his personal moral code:

And then we have Maid Kim, who is literally never afraid of Jang Uk, she just loves him no matter what. By S2 she knows exactly who he is and that he's haunted by ghosts and she does not care. "Oh my super-powered adopted son is home to spend a haunting night, let's make sure he's comfortable!"

What she is afraid of is Naksu: she thinks her sword is ominous, she holds a funeral for Cho Yeong so that Naksu's spirt won't attack Jang Uk, and she fears that Naksu will drag Jang Uk to the grave in S2. However, her fear is never centered on herself, she's pretty much only afraid because she wants to protect Uk (like mother like son). Which is why she's one of the good characters, her fear isn't selfish.

When it comes to Naksu/Cho Yeong and Jang Uk, they are never really afraid of each other or really drive by fear, unlike everyone else. Jang Uk recognizes Naksu right away, isn't afraid of her threats at all, and then sends men to capture her. He's almost immediately willing to put his life in her hands.

His motivation is more to prove himself, which is both about himself and his mother whose memory he is trying to protect by convincing people that he's Jang Gang's son.

Cho Yeong's motivation in S1 is revenge at least at first, which she needs her powers back to have. But then she switches to protection and remains that way through S2.

Naksu doesn't have any reason to fear Jang Uk in S1. Then in S2, even when she has no memory of who she is, she is very much not afraid of him. Even when he threatens her:

She takes like a whole minute to let go and step away from him. And when she sees the ice stone, she decides to try and use him rather than retreat in fear.

But of course all Naksu/Jang Uk plot is driven by both of them running straight towards things that they should fear, including each other. They are the antithesis of living in fear, they chose protection and love (and constantly being in mortal danger) instead.

[tobiasdrake]

The thing that gets me about Kyon is that I feel like he could have been a very interesting character. There was a lot of potential here, that wasn't able to come to fruition because I don't think it's what the creators had in mind when they were making this.

The thing I keep coming back to with Kyon is that he is the victim of a controlling and coercive power dynamic. I talked about this in Live Alive; Kyon is being targeted by someone who possessively desires him, who he can't simply refuse outright because she has measures of control.

And that is a dynamic with a wealth of potential. Kyon is in a position of victimization that we rarely get to see male characters portrayed in.

The show goes to great lengths to demonstrate Haruhi's abuse of Kyon. The way she physically drags him around by his tie. Mikuru telling him multiple times that they can't be a thing because Haruhi deleted the universe last time she got jealous of them. Refraining from flirting with those girls in Live Alive, not because he likes Haruhi but because he's afraid of her seeing him flirt with women.

Kyon is having to walk a tightrope between having boundaries and appeasing his abuser. He's having to adjust his behavior to avoid setting her off. Because he is not in a position where he can simply walk away. He's literally not allowed a voice in the matter. She controls his life.

The show goes to great lengths to present Kyon's victimization.

But what it isn't willing to do is to let Kyon be presented as a victim.

Because that isn't the angle they're going for. They're going for a "Shallow male protagonist that you can project onto" / "Sassy Waifu" romance.

So they keep Kyon's characterization aloof, giving him shallow opinions like "Mikuru sure is hot!" and "Ugh, Haruhi is being annoying again." The show refrains from examining him in any real capacity because its primary goal for him is just to be the designated love interest.

It can't follow the threads that are floating around Kyon because the natural conclusion of those threads would be Haruhi letting Kyon go. Eternal Eight even puts a finger on it with the exchange of,

Hey Kyon. Hey. Hey, Kyon. The cicada is a metaphor for you. But I don't expect you to get that because your main job in this show is to have the plot explained to you over and over.

Like. They literally put a finger on it and say, "Kyon is a bug in a cage that Haruhi needs to release. And only an idiot would come back."

They know. They have to know that this is the dynamic.

But it doesn't go anywhere. It can't be examined with the severity it deserves because it would get in the way of the ship. Examining Haruhi's abuse of Kyon is not the goal. The goal is for them to make out and live happily ever after, and they're going to keep shoving Haruhi down Kyon's throat until that happens.

This character has all of the pieces he needs to be a genuinely interesting and engaging protagonist. He just. Isn't allowed to be.

[ozaitheestallion]

You said you immediately saw Ozai as being played as a drag queen?? PLEASE elaborate I'm so interested in the way ur mind works 🙏

Okay so maybe I’m just incredibly fucked up and deep down the queer horror rabbit hole (I’ve been watching a lot of Dragula, American Horror Story and classic horrors lately), but the second you start looking at Ozai through a drag, camp, “classic Disney villain” lens, it’s hard to see him any other way.

Like I watched this show as a kid when I originally aired and like basically everyone, I was absolutely terrified and sickened by Ozai, the shitty dad and ultimate big bad villain who is also not even really the main villain, right? Like that’s Azula or Zhao or whoever. That’s how basically all of us original viewers saw him and how a lot of new viewers still do. Fair enough. Not inaccurate.

However, I didn’t do rewatches of the show again, not until the revival in interest over COVID. I hadn’t rewatched it even once since it originally aired and so therefore I expected my viewpoint to change…but nowhere near as drastically as my view of Ozai did.

I’m not saying Ozai is written to be viewed as a drag character, because of course he isn’t, but as I said, once you start looking at him through that specific lens, you won’t be able to see him any other way.

He’s kept in the shadows unless we need a dramatic scary reveal. He’s constantly making dramatic, prose-filled speeches for the benefit of…like…no one lmao like most his scenes are one on one confrontations. He has a very dramatic design, being a conventionally attractive man yet has that fuck ass goatee, the best eyeliner in the country and more detail put into his hair than any other character gets.

He does his whole reveal as the Phoenix King that goes off without a hitch, perfectly rehearsed. This was a surprise to no one but Azula. He got every damn person in the palace in on this stupid reveal. They already know he’s going to become a new ruler with a new title. They already know. This isn’t for their benefit. He did an entire reveal just for the benefit of his kid. If there’s one thing a queen loves, it’s a dramatic unnecessary reveal.

As he fights Aang, he just keeps making these speeches that a child will either not be interested in or too far away to even hear or appreciate, yet he keeps going anyway.

Right up until the end and then going into the comics, he’s dramatic, bitter and playing everyone against each other even though he has absolutely nothing to gain anymore. He puts Zuko and Azula against each other and antagonises Ursa even though it will gain him nothing and do nothing except kill time. Insults for the sake of insults and mess for the sake of mess. The fact insults of far greater power can be thrown back at him in his position is something he doesn’t even consider. Just messy for the sake of being messy and evil for the sake of being evil.

Ozai would fit nicely alongside classic queer-coded Disney villains like Ursula, Scar, Hades, Maleficent and Captain Hook.

He’s so dramatic and so over the top with his cruelty, his crimes and his villainous actions, yet is completely and utterly committed to the bit he’s doing. There’s no self aware clever jabs like Azula or obvious moment of “look at how ridiculous he is” like with Zhao. Ozai and his writing are completely committed to what he’s doing and burning down the entire world literally by hand, and at no point is it questioned. It’s like watching Divine in a John Waters film. This is simply what the character I doing and you’re the ridiculous one for questing them.

Ozai takes himself so seriously and so literally and is so very offended and genuinely surprised when he’s questioned and called out, (like why on earth would he think burning his son’s face is a valid teaching moment or burning the entire earth kingdom will in any way be a good start to his new empire), that it becomes camp.

This is…extremely long and meandering and tbh I don’t think there’s any way for me to really clearly define why I view Ozai as an example of a classic queer/drag coded villain. If you don’t agree and do take his portrayal as an abusive father and an imperialist tyrant seriously and that’s how you prefer to view the story, then by all means do that. I’m not trying to change your mind.

I’m just saying that sometimes our views of things can change dramatically as we ourselves change as people, and sometimes those changes are extremely entertaining, nonsensical and fun to explore.

Like the IT remakes, some unspeakable horrors can also be viewed and enjoyed as queer adjacent comedies if you look sideways and saying. And sometimes the unspeakable horrors are better that way.

[yyyyanyan]

Book Club: The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

part 2 of my Camp Halfblood Chronicles binge!

It had suchhh a strong start with The Lost Hero. I love all three of them to bits (especially Jason but also ALL of them are my babies I'm holding them in my palms). The Roman/Greek split blew my mind when I first read this book years ago and honestly I'm still kind of processing it LOL. I'm obsessed with how Piper works on her charmspeak and getting comfortable in her own skin and Leo and his relationship with his fire powers??? god amazing!! And Jason I always felt like was such a strong stern type and I'm just attached to him. I think specifically he came off super perfect at first (especially with how Piper had her crush on him) and it was so pleasant to see him failing.

I like The Son of Neptune slightly less but not for any specific reason I can pinpoint--I think I just really vibed with the Jason-Piper-Leo trio. I did think it was absolutely sick that we got to see Percy is utterly insanely powerful and Hazel's backstory had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I also have a soft spot for Frank since he's Chinese-Canadian (one nitpick: what is his Chinese name Fai supposed to be?).

Unfortunately, I really lost my drive by the third and fourth books ToT I think there was just too many POVs and every time I was getting in the swing of things it was time for a new character in a new situation. And I'm sorry but Tartarus was such a drag for me!! I feel like I didn't get enough of a sense of just how miserable and horrible it was and honestly I just felt sad for Bob/Iaepetus all the time. The one positive of the variety of perspectives was, again, seeing Percy being a madlad from outsider POV <3

Anyways once once I finished Book 4 and went to the last book (Blood of Olympus) it went way faster--I was so excited about reading from Reyna's and Nico's perspectives! Reyna and Nico are sooo good together they're my #1 brotp (maybe). Honestly though once I got to this point I was kind of like, "seven halfbloods" answering the call feels so arbitrary to me? Both Reyna and Nico play such critical roles--especially Nico--that I feel kind of robbed that they're not officially listed as people in the prophecy. This is also the place where I say: ngl I think Annabeth being one of the seven was totally lame LOL (I like Annabeth though!) I feel like she had more of a supporting role and her Athena prophecy could have been a quest that was helping this big one (also 'cause it wasn't listed in this one). However this is definitely also my Nico bias talking because Nico is definitely one of my top blorbos in PJO

Anyways it's been like maybe two or three weeks since I finished the whole series and I have to say the ending was really underwhelming to me. I'm literally not even sure I could tell you what happened in Blood of Olympus in detail. I was so sure it was going to be even more epic and even grander and it kind of totally missed the mark? I remember being so moved and feeling the battles in The Last Olympian so vividly and this one felt so weak. I also thought that Gaea would be like... more prominent I guess? I literally think Tartarus ended up being more scary and he featured so much less. The final defeat was so underwhelming lmao :'D

Kind of related to the above is: I also felt more and more as the series went on that Leo really was a seventh wheel, in the sense that he just didn't seem as close to everyone else. I wish his relationship with Frank had been less prickly especially after the main point of their antagonism was resolved (like why did Leo ALWAYS have to make Frank the butt of the joke?), and I also wish the weird almost-Hazel/Leo thing just didn't happen? I feel like at that point she already liked Frank and neither she nor he really got invested in the sort-of-romance and I feel like if they had just settled into just being friends after the whole revelation thing then it would have made sense. It was exciting that Leo was the key to winning the battle, but I felt like it lacked emotional impact because he felt so separate from them all. Calypso and Leo ARE the cutest though and I was/am rooting so hard for them

The last thing is, I feel like there were a lot of like... plot points that didn't go anywhere? I can't tell if they were put in so they would get resolved in the third series but I'm kind of disappointed that they weren't dealt with in this series. So the ones that I picked up/am really interested in are:

Percy getting more violent/merciless and being scared of it

Jason's sort of... struggle between Roman and Greek? Specifically I feel like in the first book he was so Roman and then suddenly it became that he had a conflict(??) and felt more Greek. I guess with this one it's less that it was unresolved but more it came out of nowhere for me and I kind of wish it had been laid out more from the beginning. I will continue my salt in my ramblings of the sequel series btw

Hazel coming back from the dead?? Did Nico just see her and go "I'm taking her" and that was it lol or was there something else...?

[chaosoftheages]

Father & Son Character Headcanons!!!

I've established quite a few of my own Headcanons for most of the F&S characters, not including my OC's who have their own bios now on my OC list, so I'm giving Alan's characters my own personal headcanons for Father & Son.

(Also, if nobody noticed, I gave my standalones an actual title and connected them, so they'll have their own headcanon page later. This will be added to my pinned post eventually.)

Anyways-

Headcanons!

Purple(Nickname: Little flower):

Very sensitive

Has abandonment issues

Inherited his father's sass and attitude

Dropped Navy's last name. Fully adopts Orchid's last name, Rose.

Very scared his power will become unstable and he will hurt someone

Loves clear, sunny days.

Still has most of the scars from the major battles in the early books.

Both very affectionate and not affectionate at all. Like, he will fall asleep cuddling next to King, or physically push him away.

Considers Gold his adoptive brother, and often refers to Sapphire as his sister in law.

Has a surprisingly strong internal system, despite the constant stabbings, major battles, and comas he is put under.

Very street smart

Can space out very easily

Has anxiety

Defenitely has PTSD

Still worried King will turn on him

Always on high alert. With how much Navy has come back, it's become a habit

Has insomnia. Usually can only fall asleep unless he's near King

Still partially processing Orchid's affair

Has chronic headaches and will sometimes look like he's still brainwashed.

Has a necklace King gave him. Always wears it. Protects it with his life. Literally his all-time favorite gift. Will probably kill someone with an energy ball if it gets damaged or broken.

Has a lot of self-doubt and personal self problems. King usually drags him out of the hole with a hug and positive affirmations.

Has a higher self confidence as the series progresses.

Believes in reincarnation, not in a "I can just resurrect myself from dead with these random powers I somehow acquired while attempting to kill somebody" kind of way

King Orange

Protective of all of the kids, but especially protective of Purple

Fears losing Purple

Very attached to Purple. He's scared of losing another child over a stupid mistake.

Cherishes the genuine smiles Purple gives. They aren't very common anymore, with how much the kid has gone through, so he absolutely adores seeing Purple look genuinely happy.

Purple's main support system. Usually holds him when he's having a breakdown and cuddles him until he falls asleep.

Kept an old test staff from when he was avenging Gold as a precaution. While Yellow has the Command Block Staff, King will usually grab Alan's Minecraft block as a last resort.

On occasion will have nightmares, whether it's Purple in danger or any of the other kids. They scare him.

Scared he'll drive Purple away because of a trivial mistake.

Just in general loves Purple. Will probably kill Navy on his own if there's ever a time that they can't bring Purple back

Slightly weary of Gold's relationship with Sapphire, but supportive nonetheless.

Adores seeing Gold and Purple bond. He thinks it's cute, and loves that Purple sees Gold as an adoptive sibling.

Has trouble trusting that Purple knows what he's doing, but grows out of that phase as the series goes on. He does it out of fear that Purple is going to get himself killed or even severely injured.

Chosen

Very protective of Second and the CG

Will murder anyone who messes with Dark

Scared of losing Dark because of what's happened in the past.

Purple's third supporter, next to King and Dark.

Between all three hollow heads, he is the most level headed.

Has insomnia

Tries not to start fights, and is reasonable with what he says if they do start. The last time he and Dark had a fight, he almost lost Dark forever, and he doesn't want that happening again

Finds Dark's exaggeration of things incredibly hilarious

Will hug so tight and never let go. Dark knows this very well.

Occasionally stays the night in Second's room to keep watch over him.

Enjoys teasing Dark. He acts like an older brother to him. Dark finds it annoying and will usually tease him back as payback.

Can be sensitive and emotional

Loves it when Dark calls him "Cho"

Dark

Loves calling Chosen "Cho"

Knows how the Virabots work, even though Navy has rewired them entirely.

Kept the ViraBands as a precaution and last resort. He and Purple both have a ViraBand just in case(Dark's in the black in red from AVA, and Purple's is a mix of purple and blue)

Complains about Chosen's incredibly tight hugs. Deep down, he absolutely loves them. Will usually hug him equally tight.

Purple's secondary supporter.

Has more nightmares than Chosen

Between all three hollowheads, he is hotheaded and reckless.

Will say hurtful words, and then automatically regret them later. Will hate himself for it.

Equally protective of the CG

Is close with Purple and Yellow specifically.(He and Purple kind of trauma bonded and are good at working together, and he and Yellow are some of the smartest people in the group.)

Second

Annoyed at Chosen and Dark's protectiveness, but accepts it. He knows King does the exact same thing with Purple(though Purple is more accepting of the affection and cherishes it)

Occasionally camps out in Red's room. He knows Red had been hit the hardest in the first three books, and in book 6, so he tries comforting him as best as he can.

Extremely protective of the CG, Purple included. Will 100% use his powers if they are threatened.

Very scared that his powers will become out of control. He's still learning about them, like Purple, and is nervous about how crazy they've gotten in the past

His eyes flicker green and his body glows green when he's using his powers.

Whenever he uses a large amount of power, his body will be covered with green electricity, like paralysis.

Very sleep deprived(He blames Green.)

Red

Has PTSD

Has insomnia

Occasionally has nightmares about what he's been through

Purple helps him with his animals

Between the other members of the CG, he's the closest to Purple and Second

Sensitive

Has a bracelet with the CG's colors mixed into it.

Uses fidget toys often

Has anxiety

Is the most childish between all six of the CG members

Next to Purple, he is the most traumatized.

Loves baggy sweaters.

Can tame literally any Minecraft mob.

Yellow

One of the three smartest characters

Between Alan's pc-dwellers, he is the most sarcastic and has the most sass(the title is quickly taken by Purple out of the entire cast)

Tries to be very scientific and logical

Very reasonable

Can very quickly rewire literally any one of Navy's machines. He never gets the chance, but he could do it.

One of the swiftest. Easily able to take out any guards if you give him weapons and a decent chance.(This is very important in the infection au)

VERY sleep deprived.

Addicted to coffee.

Loves insulting Green

Literally Blue's best friend.

Green

Stays up all night playing music. Won't let Second sound-proof his room

Loves trying to annoy Purple in the middle of the night.

Very sarcastic.

Loves to pick verbal fights with Navy whenever he gets a chance

Argues with Yellow on the daily

The strongest in hand-to-hand combat.

Will absolutely start a fight in Purple's honor(Mocha almost lost a nose because of that)

Can roller skate very well(Purple taught him)

Actually does become good friends with Scarlet. His friends love teasing him about their relationship as much as Sapphire is teased about her relationship with Gold

Easily ticked off. Will either start insulting someone into a mental breakdown, or just start throwing hands if you give him a chance

Has an on-off rivalry with King. Purple finds it both annoying and hilarious.

Will 100% let King hear it if he hurts Purple. Like, he will absolutely go insane(King's grateful Green didn't find out that he let Purple run out in the middle of a thunderstorm.)

Blue

Still a netherwart addict.

Basically the gang's alchemist. It's his role in his and Yellow's dynamic too.

Very sensitive

Will let someone hear it if they mess with Yellow.

Loves having one-on-one sleepover campouts with Yellow.

The gangs chef. Probably rivals a chef in Stick City somewhere.

The calmest and most levelheaded between the six of them.

Still weary of Dark

Good friends with Copper.

Is a literal mother hen with the CG. Alan finds it hilarious.

Gold

Protective of Purple.

Slightly weary of Mocha's old friends because of what they did to Purple and Sunny, but accepting of them.

Has playful banter with Copper over his relationship with Sapphire

Loves scavenger hunts.

Still traumatized from the festival and the Minecraft incident.

Has a necklace from Purple. Cherishes it.

Has scars on his arms and upper body from the Minecraft incident

Loves going to arcades. Will drag Purple with him on occasion.

Still spends time with King a lot.

Loves going to the movies. Will take Sapphire there as a date every so often

Navy

Literally just pure evil

Very smart

Feels no remorse for what he's done to Purple

Questions if Purple really is his biological son after the affair between Night Shade and Orchid is revealed

Has not talked to his parents in years. Didn't even talk to them after leaving Orchid and Purple.

Took way to long to realize that Orchid was dead. Didn't even know of it until Night Shade brought it up while they were plotting their second attempt at getting rid of Purple(meaning he didn't know she was dead until book 2)

Wonders how the fuck Purple is still alive

Has full control of the ViraBots. Doesn't realize that Dark can easily hack into them.

Has major anger issues

Has completely forgotten how to fight in hand-to-hand combat. Has gotten way too used to fighting Purple in the sky with energy balls and ViraBands to even remember(this happens in books 9-10)

Orchid

Still partially sane

Feels a little remorse for what she's done to Purple, but not enough to break through Navy's mind control.

Still very weak. The illness that killed her originally(pre-series) is still inside of her, and it weakens her physical strength

Not really ashamed of her affair with Night Shade. She thinks he deserved to know the pain he was giving to her. Did not realize a child would come out of it.

Feels guilty for dropping Amethyst with Night Shade right off the bat. She knew deep down that Navy would kill her if he ever learned Orchid had a child with another person.

Never knew that Navy and Night Shade were related. She just thought that they were really close friends.

Originally gave Purple the nickname "my little prince". It is used it two different ways in the series: Navy uses it to taunt Purple, and King changes it to "my little flower" as an affectionate nickname for Purple

Didn't use Navy's last name, Ribbon. This follows Purple, who drops Ribbon and uses Rose.

[auggusst]

Do you have other OCs? What are they like?

I have SO MANY ocs. Literally over 30 for WoW alone. But my main WoW characters(as in the ones I focus on the most And the ones that fill the role of the actual player in game/get all the big lore moments and powers) are Kimbetheli and her husband Jonathan: an optimistic and sweet warlock and a charming and lackadaisical rogue.

Kimbetheli is just. So sweet. She can win pretty much anyone over with her authentic happy attitude and big heart. She really cares about people, and wants to help everyone she can. Part of it comes from a traumatic childhood, so she has a bit of a savior/caregiver complex, and it can sometimes cause trouble, but she's clever enough and has enough support to get through anything.

She's very powerful; she's one of the most powerful warlocks in Azeroth, and her command of demons is impressive. She is not to be trifled with in combat. Her excessive use of fel energy, all for the sake of good, has resulted in a massive fel scar that originates in the center of her back and has crawled all the way up her shoulder and the side of her neck. If she attempted to become more powerful, it would likely rip her apart. She was very sick for a long time, particularly after the Legion campaign, when she had no choice but to obtain more power to help stymie the demon invasion.

She has a Wrathguard in her employment/bound to her, named Az'Barash, and he is a big dude, her bodyguard for all intents and purposes, and he's quite reserved but has been known to vocalize the occasional judgment. He's knowledgeable in terms of war strategy, and is physically formidable. He has the strength to almost cleave a man in two with his longblade.

She suffered quite a bit of mistrust in her early adventuring days, because warlocks historically have been less than virtuous, and often downright evil, but she proved herself time and time again, and now, as co-leader of one of the most significant guilds/auxiliary forces in Azeroth, her positive reputation precedes her.

Jonathan, more commonly referred to as "Blerple," which is a nickname given to him in his youth by gnomes, is snarky, clever, and very handsome. He's very much a "mind your own business" type person though, doesn't seek out strangers or dive headfirst into situations like Kim does. He has a penchant for trouble and has notoriously bad luck though; he can and will get dragged into any and every situation regardless of his desire to engage or avoid it. He had quite a traumatic childhood, which he is very private about, and it contributed to his preference for his strange nickname as opposed to his proper name. He came from a prevalent family, so was technically a little rich boy turned street rat.

While Kimbetheli is the more powerful one overall, Blerple is still quite a formidable adversary. He has incredible sleight of hand, makes an excellent thief, and his ability to charm others in conversation allows him to eavesdrop and obtain information easily. He's got an excellent memory(except when he doesn't, like the time he misplaced his hearthstone which had disastrous consequences) so is perfect for reconnaissance.

He dual wields shortblades/daggers, is very swift, and has a wide array of poisons at his disposal, and his interest in engineering has allowed him to design and create a handful of devices to aid in his travels. He can find a way out of any situation, if he has enough time. He thinks on his feet. That quickness of thought is the very thing which saved his life as a child. He doesn't like speaking about what happened to his family, but anyone around Stormwind territory can recognize his last name(which is why he avoids speaking it.)

He had the pleasure of making a good name for himself though in the very organization he and Kimbetheli now co-lead; It's former leader became a father figure for him in his late teens/early 20s, but he definitely has left a sour taste in more than one mouth, either through purposeful meddling or genuine misfortune, and it often comes back to haunt him. He was a lot more of a troublemaker then, before the world grew too serious, and the burden of responsibility fell on his back. But he and Kim share that responsibility, and take it quite seriously; They do whatever they can when they can, and sometimes don't get enough time for themselves because of it, which is a real shame.

They are just. So perfect together. Blerple loves her to the moon and back; he will do anything and everything he can for Kim, is often dragged into good samaritan situations by her, which he will definitely complain about, but always does what he can to help, and finds a sense of satisfaction in pleasing her, and in making a difference in people's lives. They make an incredible team, have done some incredible things together over the years and been through countless life or death situations. He always has her back and she has his. Basically, they make each other better people, help each other thrive.

She brings out this softness in him, lets him be vulnerable in a way no one else does. And he makes her feel loved and supported, lets her light shine brightly; She lost her family at a young age, and struggled to find connections in her youth, didn't have a group of people to love her the way he ended up finding. So having someone to care about and to be cared for in return is incredible to her. He makes her laugh frequently, and feel valued, and she just,,,, god she loves him so much. Every day she looks at him and feels this sense of warmth spread all through her, this sense of fondness that never wears off.

They're a very affectionate couple. Blerple is a very physical guy in general; He gestures often, is very expressive, and when he's around Kim, he feels the need to be physically connected to her; he holds her hand, or plays with her hair, or wraps an arm around her. He speaks to her more softly than everyone else, always leans in a bit, like he's drawn to her like a magnet. And her eyes are always bright and fond when she's speaking to him; she puts her entire focus on him, and it makes him feel fluttery and happy. They're busy people, with little privacy or alone time, so they're not adverse to PDA. He'll steal kisses from her whenever he's able, and she is more than willing to oblige in return. <3

They're very devoted to each other, never really left the honeymoon phase (constant danger and stress make it easier to forgive small things and just focus on the good times together) but they are open to the occasional threesome if they have a mutual crush. Kim is straight, but Blerple is bisexual, and they lowkey have a shared type: handsome, witty, and just a little stupid. Flynn Fairwind? Yeah, they bagged that. And then consequently helped him and Matthias Shaw get together.

They love playing matchmaker. They're both nosy as hell, and with Blerple's rogueish abilities and Kim's enthusiasm, they've been known to snoop in other people's love lives more than once, especially their friends. Blerple will always deny his interest, peg it on Kim, but he's just as curious by nature as she is. Thankfully they share a decent sense of judgment, or else the two of them would be in very high need of a babysitter to keep them out of trouble.

They're just. Two incredible individuals who found each other and changed the world together. They're heroes to many, prominent figures in Azeroth, and the picture of a devoted wife and husband. There's so much love between them!!! While they'd both be open to being parents as well, it's not really in the cards, which makes them a little sad. The fel corruption Kim has dealt with has made her all but infertile, and it's not really reversible. They'd be open to adoption, but really their lives are almost too busy to really consider it anyways, and besides, as co-leaders of the Brotherhood of the Stag, they're more or less mom and dad to more than a handful of enthusiastic adventurers, and are certainly the mom and dad of their friend group. They find satisfaction there, and in occasionally mentoring Blerple's young cousin/niece Aeroka, who is a budding member of the Kirin Tor.

They have friends all over Azeroth, both Alliance and Horde side, and they have a lovely little cottage in the Jade Forest in Pandaria that they saved up together for, which is maintained regularly by a friend of theirs. They intend to retire there one day, and in the rare event they can manage a vacation, they're usually found there, snuggled up and relaxing and taking time to love each other. <3

I could go on forever about these two so if you have any questions please send them 🙏🙏🙏

[cloudsoffire]

when i was younger i really liked this light novel series. i had each volume, the manga, and the anime on blu-ray. i was really into it. ocs, fanfiction about those ocs, i wanted to animate the fanfiction even though to this day my only experience with animation was flipnote. but i drew my ocs a lot. never once did i draw or write about the actual characters i don't think but y'know.

so the story is set in a kinda post-apocalyptic world where there's a virus that turns living creatures into monsters so there's basically a monster for each type of animal. certain areas are mostly safe because they're walled off with big monoliths made of a metal that the monsters are weak to.

the most interesting part of the story was that there were children, girls because of something to do do with the virus inhibiting something or other, born with the infection who had red eyes and superpowers. but the more they use their powers, the faster the infection speeds up, and if they pass 50% they turn into the monsters. they're treated horribly by society and don't even have human rights. they're often made to pair up with civil security officers (their promoters) to fight the monsters (gastrea) that wander into the city.

now you might already be seeing some issue, but i didn't. i was like "wow, a story about downtrodden children who just want to be kids but they're dragged into a war that isn't even theirs and there's cool and unique rules!"

i was so in denial that even when faced with a message in the afterword in either the novels or manga (i can't find it), someone (i think the mangaka) thanked the author for creating a "loli paradise." and like that phrase alone is so gross right? but anyway i remember looking at it, probably making a face, and thinking, "what? you totally and fully misunderstood the source material."

but as i got older and less into it, it got harder to brush off passages like the one specifically drawing attention to two of the (did i mention they're 11) girls underwear beneath the skirts of costumes they were wearing as weird but everything else is cool! so like, i can ignore this bit, right?

well here's the conclusion i reached. anything cool in these books is completely incidental, because the author just wanted to write about little girls.

quite the step, you say? hardly. the main character isn't even a cursed child himself, he's a cyborg. like 16 iirc. and people misunderstanding his relationship with various cursed children is a running joke. i think his partner even has a crush on him? i don't remember the finer details.

i hate to bring up my old fanfiction but i'm gonna use it to do a few comparisons.

in my story, the pov character was an initiator who got paired with a promoter who's on his like 5th initiator or something. he's an asshole and basically the first thing he does as her partner is let her go off on her own. she immediately latches onto him and does everything he says because she's an amnesiac and he's her one tie. not once is she sexualized. one of the first things she does is fall in a sink and when she recieves an id card she rubs it against her face because it's warm. she's 11.

meanwhile, over in the actual story, the main character is a 16 year old boy who's constantly surrounded by preteens and often put into compromising positions with them so someone can stumble in and misunderstand the situation. in the first volume of the manga, his initiator literally calls herself his fiancé, kisses him, and then, you guessed it...

anyway this is getting long so if anyone wants to buy all 7 light novel volume, all 4 manga volumes, and the blu-ray of the anime of black bullet, hmu.

[ms-scarletwings]

And it’s NOT even an obsession with aliens specifically… it’s an obsession with the unknown and yet to be explored. Absent of Zim forcing his attention and top priority towards the perpetual invasion, he doesn’t really have a particular worm for extraterrestrials burrowing through his head. He’s jumping at any cryptic lead that enters his field of view in his spare time. He’s scrutinizing for potential yetis/bigfeets, he’s raising the dead, and he’s probably going around poking vampiric beehives and god only knows what other antics a 12 year old with that kind of plot armor can get around to. He’s just as enthusiastic and curious to “figure out” arcane spells and futuristic unearthly tech alike. In a simulation of all his dreams come true he segwayed right through his false victory over Zim and onto the next hunt for ghosts, and then the likes of Nessie’s kin.

Of course space would be absolutely wondrous to him. It’s one of the last true frontiers standing before mankind, and what is left to be learned about it completely dwarfs, no, transcends the comparative speck of work we’ve accomplished so far. I’d make a fair wager that he feels the same about the oceans and the worlds beneath worlds, and in between.

The juxtaposition between his life’s passion and Professor Membrane’s is so ironic it actually almost hurts.

And I’ve seen it that way for a very long time, because invader Zim is a crazyass world full of crazyass things that are real as a heart attack. This isn’t real life where people actually are likely in need of urgent medical treatment if they spend several years screaming about a school classmate being an interloper from the stars or a Sasquatch using their power tools. Dib actually does know what he’s talking about to at least a point further than many other believers and investigators within the show. Nothing about his problem with dad is “science vs pseudoscience” like it would be if they existed in a grounded and consistent universe.

To Dib, this is ALL correctly perceived as just more science. Supernatural would honestly be a misnomer for his special interest if you think about it. How can something be above nature, and also occur naturally? Magic and monsters are parts of the same world, and the fact that they break the known rules only means to Dib that there’s more complexity to the rules he needs to keep learning. He’s not even “bad” at the conventional research his father expects of him, he’s a prodigy study to the point that it bores him to tears.

Because why would he want to keep himself restrained to things already tried and known when there’s so much more out there? He doesn’t want the maximum potential of his achievements to be dragging his feet down a path paved to him by those before, least of all probably his father.

You wanna hear a hot take about where his disagreement with the professor actually stems from??

Dib Membrane is the most scientifically-minded character in Invader Zim.

Literally no one else so consistently represents that inquirious faucet of the human condition. For better or worse Dib has to be scratching an itch to keep turning over every odd stone off the beaten road and to pursue that which he doesn’t understand- All for no other ultimate reason than to know, record, and tell. Contrast that with the most renowned scientist of the human race: a man of authoritative knowledge and very little compromise with the unknowns, as in the TRUE unknowns. I’m not saying Professor membrane doesn’t have intellectual curiosity, far from it, but it’s not actually the main driver behind his research. And that is neither an insult to his work because his main priority is actually extremely utilitarian and helpful to society. The world literally needs a man like him to function, and his entire character represents what most laymen think an ideal “scientist” is, a super smarts guy who knows everything and builds the world we live in. In his position, it’s probably very hard not to develop some arrogance regarding what he thinks he’s learned about the universe.

Dib’s hobby is where you really watch the curiosity in Membrane comes to blows with the stereotype he was made in the image of. Earlier on you believe the problem is that he’s just an evidence based rationalist who needed proof of Dib’s claims.

Except we have seen this hope completely shattered from about the Florpus movie and onward. Professor membrane is smart, but he is not inherently that much more rational than most humans. There is the established science, and there are unquestionable, concrete rules about the universe he just cannot compromise on because he has not considered their exceptions possible. He roughly said it himself once that aliens probably do exist, but not the technology that could bring them face to face with him. that’s the exact premise in his head that stopped him from engaging with the Irken Spittlerunner sitting in his garage. Based on the laws he spent his entire life utilizing in his work, it shouldn’t exist. It can’t exist. But his son is a very imaginative and crafty kid. Him building something like that as a cry for attention is possible under the known laws of reality, so there’s the working conclusion for the spaceship. All of membrane’s denial throughout the movie becomes a lot less absurd and a lot more predictable when you realize this is just how his internal logic tree works. A bug-eyed alien using a tiny purple moose to spaghettify the entire planet through a multi-dimensional portal??? NOT👏SCIENTIFICALLY👏POSSIBLE. That’s an absolutely ludicrous proposal!

Some kind of hallucinogenic psychosis? Well, that’s happened to people before, the human mind is a very flawed machine, after all. What are you gonna do, right? Bet it’s just a remarkably vivid dream. And that’s a bummer because it really raises the bar and the possible futility of what Dib is trying to accomplish. Even if he switched gears off of the alien thing and made a breakthrough somewhere else, it is always going to be the same struggle with his father, because what Dib loves to study is exclusively things that make everything we know about the world no longer make sense- Things that elude traditional means of research and things that require a humility that his society has long abandoned to be known. Things that you will never see if you don’t have the modesty to accept that you haven’t reached the end of history and exploration. Professor Membrane is without reservation, a brilliant mind, and a force of ultimate good in the world. He’s the colloquial understanding of science, the cemented, the accepted, the undefeatable, and the merciless enemy to blind faith.

And yet, Dib Membrane better represents the actual history and theory of the scientific pursuit- one that was fueled by curiosity and awe at the world, one that has persisted despite all sabotage and violence that tried to hold it back, one that never grew complacent, one that made power upset countless times over, one that had to constantly adapt, and one that doesn’t dismiss or flee its challengers because it sprints headfirst into them.

TL/DR: I eternally fucking love the characterization in this series; Taking my hat off in sorrow for Dib because so much of the family rift here is that the professor has raised a superior successor to Membrane Labs, even if he’s stubbornly coping too hard to appreciate that now.

You know, the movie doesn’t explicitly draw attention to it, but I just love Dib’s wonder-filled big-eyed look when Zim pulls out his star map hologram. 

It connects very well with the movie’s opening

And even as far back as the ending of ‘Tak, the Hideous New Girl’

That Dib’s obsession with aliens is, fundamentally, born of a true sense of excitement and wonder of the mysteries of outer space. 

[sidsinning]

Also, can I make a bit of a defense for Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)?

Like, there are a lot (A LOT) of flaws with the movie and the character that I absolutely agree with. Very valid criticisms.

But out of all the Disney Princesses, Aurora is the most alone. There is literally not a single character on her side in that movie. And by "on her side" I mean cares about her wants and need, cares about autonomy. (Except maybe Phillip, but that's someone she barely knows). She doesn't even have an animal sidekick that's with her all the time.

Like, she grew up with the only people to talk to being the Three Fairies. She thought she was going to have a pretty normal life. Except, nope, her Father who she has never met and cannot know his temperment is the King. And not only is he demanding her back at the castle she doesn't remember being in, she is told she has to marry a Prince she doesn't know. That's terrifying.

And what do the three women who raise her do? Force her to go. Like, they are literally there dressing her up as she is sobbing. She doesn't want this but they just pat her and tell her she's gotta do it. The people who raise her might look at her with pity, but they aren't gonna help her get out of this. She doesn't know anything about her father and he could be an incredibly cruel person. (I'm sure the textile workers of the country don't think positively of him).

Like, I'm not really sure what Aurora COULD do to escape her situation. With what skills is she supposed to escape a King? Is she supposed to scale the wall? And I would be afraid to piss off a King, I can see her being afraid since she has literally never met the man. Not to mention the fairies seem to think she is supposed to be THERE. Wouldn't they just drag her back?

She's just sixteen and has no one. Who can she turn to? Animal companions she is only shown with once? That aren't even named? The random boy she met once in the woods that she was supposed to meet again? Not like he knows where she is.

Like, Cinderella has her fairy Godmother and the mice to help her.

Snow White has the dwarves.

Aurora literally has no one.

And yeah, the story turns out well in the end. Her Dad isn't an ass. Prince Phillip turns out to be the guy in the woods. But gosh, she couldn't have known that. She just knew that she had no power over her situation.

And, like, there are still so many problems with her character, but I just really like her. She is NOT a heroine. But not every person gets to be a heroine.

You see, this is what I'm talking about though. Her problems in the end aren't really problems or struggles. Everything magically works out for her in the end to which she had no hand in. She was panicking and sad for like, a day, 98% of which was because she can't like a boy she talked to for 20 minutes off screen (she showed no sign of being worried about how the king would be), before falling victim to the sleeping curse. When she woke up suddenly she's a rich princess with kind parents marrying the boy she loved in the forest who turned out to be the prince the entire time. No lesson, no adversaries, no actions taken by her. The one who faces a challenge to conquer with stakes in the end is Phillip.

She has the literal opposite of "no one". Every single character except for the actual villain is on her side even if she doesn't know it yet.

She could've at least tried to put up a fight against the fairies to show some backbone, but she silently goes along with them and stays still and cries. She can be shown TRYING to run away at least, even if she doesn't succeed, but she doesn't. I don't need her to be a sword wielding badass, I need her to have determination.

And yeah, the problem is that she SHOULD be a heroine, should be the maker of her own story- she is the main character to which the movie is named after. But sadly she isn't, which is the problem. She has a complete and utter lack of agency for the entire movie which is disappointing.

Again, like what you like! These are just my thoughts on her.

[filipinoizukuu]

hello mr simp do you have any thoughts on the leeks 👀

FIRST OF ALL. THEY CAME SO FUCKING EARLY??? BRO I WAS ASLEEP

SECOND OF ALL

holy SHIT YALL

Okay, it's no secret that I'm an All Might stan. I LOVE All Might. Very very much. Not just as a simp, but genuinely, I enjoy his character SO MUCH.

--And unlike what some people may think, I'm not totally blind to his flaws. I know he sucks as a mentor and that he's done way more harm to Deku than good. He's.... not perfect. in every sense of the word. The whole point of AM's character is that he is a DEEPLY FLAWED individual— but at the end of the day, still good.

This new chapter gave me SOOO many new feelings. I'm not gonna lie to y'all and say I was a Stain apologist beforehand because I wasn't. I disliked Stain to a certain degree, but I also knew he was morally grey enough that I was able to still quite appreciate him as a character. This chapter was about EVERYTHING to me because I honestly did NOT expect Hori to go in this direction and for things to happen the way they did. It was too good to be true! Too fanfic-y! The disbelief I felt when I read what happened was on par with when Bakugou and Deku had that apology and kinda-hug in the rain!

But this disbelief is not because it was a bad thing.

I think the writing in Chapter 326 is phenomenal. The moment that All Might was really beginning to lose hope in not just himself as a hero, but himself as a PERSON... we finally hear the opinion of someone who would abso-fucking-LUTELY make or break the last of his spirit.

Stain is, as much as his views are pretty agreeable and his label is that of a vigilante, still a pretty shitty guy. He's tried to kill literal kids who got in his way, even if said kids made pretty dumb decisions. AM hearing what he has to say is absolutely mind-boggling to him because he knows all of that. He knows Stain is a shitty person and that his worldview is perhaps terribly skewed. He knows Stain has spent a hot minute frying his brains down in Tartarus and isn't good at making judgment calls. Knows that for all intents and purposes, Stain's opinions are not to be trusted.

But the thing is... Toshinori also knows that Stain, regardless of the soundness of his mind, is telling the truth.

Regardless of how fucked-in-the-head Stain is, we as readers are able to acknowledge that he isn't blinded by hero worship. Sure, he's bitter, cynical, and quite the absolutist--but Stain is still clear-headed enough to be able to see AM's flaws for what they are and accept them, ultimately proving to Toshinori that the power of All Might was never his own but rather the legacy that he inspired.

The society MHA takes place in is flawed. We all know this. Heroes, as a concept, had been corrupted into being purely about good and evil. Purely winning fights for money or fame or the abstract concept of victory (coughs Endeavor and the no.1 spot coughs), making heroism as we know it about flashiness and power instead of mercy and the desire to help others.

All Might symbolizes the ideal version of the Hero Society. He represents doing the best you can. Being a hero until you reach your limits, and then going even past that. He symbolizes pure intention and the desire to be a hero not for material gains but because of the pure want to make society a better and safer place. Stain refers to Kamino Ward and the statue as a "holy land" because he believes that through and through, AM's only had the purest of intentions and morals. To him, Toshinori was like a deity that had no fault in making society what it was in the present because that accountability fell on the generations of heroes that failed to fulfill his legacy.

The point being, Stain understood that All Might was fundamentally not about 'being there' for everyone 24/7, but rather the message his presence had sent.

All Might's monologue at the beginning of the chapter essentially boiled down to the ideas that:

A. He regrets not being there properly for Deku

B. His image was a delusion that ultimately led to the downfall of hero society.

To break this down, his problem with Deku is his inability to be a competent mentor. It shows that he has led him down dangerous and horrible paths (Deku's stubbornness to do things by himself and his 'dark' arc post-war), and is unable to bring him back into the light even if he tries. It was only when Class 1-A had intervened that they were able to get Deku to rest and let people tag along, after all, which is why Toshinori was far too embarrassed to follow him into UA's walls even after everyone had come out with umbrellas.

Stain disproves this in two ways.

First, he says that it was never about All Might's ability to actually be there for people. The whole point of what inspired Deku to be the inherently good-hearted "true hero" he is today is because of the values that AM's brand had instilled in him as a child. AM's biggest positive impacts came from behind the screen where he was used as the proof that true heroes can and do exist. Deku does want to be exactly like All Might, yes, which is why we see Toshinori leading him down the same path that he walked--but the underlying message of this is that the very first thing All Might gave him even before OfA was the courage to help fix society.

I do believe Deku is an innately compassionate person. Most people in the series are. However, what makes All Might's smile so uniquely impactful to what it did to Hero Society is the way it gave people courage to help people. Less hesitation. Less bystander syndromes. The ability to move without thinking. Because you can feel the want to help a person, but the courage to be nosey and actually do it? That's portrayed as something AM's image teaches people.

The second way he disproves AM's insecurity of dragging Deku down is that he makes it clear that this pain is somewhat of a necessity in reforming society. He says, interestingly enough, that this is but the 'middle process' in reforming society. This spills over to how he addresses Problem B, but what Stain is essentially saying here is that this sort of brutality and isolation that Izuku faces is impermanent. A phase. It implies that even if Deku is struggling and Toshinori is unable to help him, it is something that needs to happen before they re-realize the ideal heroes All Might's image is meant to create.

The second problem in regards to how All Might feels about current society (how it's collapsing because of him, etc. etc.) is more interestingly addressed. There are many things that Stain says--like how Toshinori doesn't need to actually be the one to fix society with his bare hands. The current society is not his fault because of the fact that it is not finished developing. I'm not sure if I can go so far as to say that Stain means this in the sense of the Scorched Earth method of tearing everything down to build it back up better-- but I can say that Stain still has faith in society to rebuild after this period of chaos.

This rebuilding starts with the old generation of heroes correcting what they messed up (i.e. Endeavor v Dabi) and more importantly, paving the way for a better generation of heroes that was inspired by All Might's image. Heroes that are led by people like Deku, who is defined by his proclivity to help without thinking. The violent deconstruction of society is about exposing society to the raw truth of All Might's image that not everybody can be as strong as him-- which is why we have to take care of each other.

When the lady comes in to remove the sign and start cleaning the statue, it's symbolic. It's a clear metaphor that the past few chapters are the turning point for society as a whole, and how people are starting to remember what real heroism is. From the distrust that was seeded in society ever since LoV had surfaced, we are seeing that trust being returned TEN-FOLD now that people can see not only the mask of a hero's smile, but also the person underneath.

I think it's some really neat symbolism here too about how Deku, who's metal mouth guard was literally all about representing All Might's smile, is shed.

This is hero society dropping their masks. Letting people see them for as they are. Toshinori revisiting the statue in this form makes all the more impact because he shed his mask ages ago during the Kamino Bust, so this is him coming face to face with the image he's created and seeing the differences between them, and how his image continues to live on even after he's almost completely Quirkless. The lady cleaning the All Might statue shows off the fact that things can be repaired again--that society can be clean (hehe stain pun) again.

It's interesting to me here how Stain offers the information from Tartarus.

He doesn't care anymore about his life. It's evident. He disagrees with what the LoV is doing, but believes enough in Deku to think that it's time for him to retire the mantle of 'Stain'. Unless this is another test, it's very odd for me to hear that Stain is offering a blade and his life to someone he isn't even sure is All Might.

But the impact of this action reads loud and clear.

This is Stain taking pity on All Might. This is him realizing that All Might too is a person behind the hero. That Toshinori Yagi is incapable of doing anything past the image he had already created. By offering that knife and information on Tartarus, Stain is giving control back to Toshinori. He is giving AM the chance to do something big again to help society's reconstruction. To be a part of the revolution that he so badly deserves to see. That knife is essentially an exit ticket from the sidelines, and one last chance for All Might to be able to see what his image has done for people.

I personally think that the main reason Stain is willing to die then and there by Toshinori's hand, despite not being sure that he is All Might to begin with, is because of the final impact it creates that it isn't about Toshinori Yagi's true power as a person, but the image of All Might. It is because he looks like the symbol of peace, that Stain (the literal HERO KILLER) feels comfortable laying his life in his hands and giving away valuable information.

If that isn't a great testament to the power of AM's image, I don't know WHAT is.

I guess all I have to say is I absolutely love what Stain did in this chapter. Everything felt so incredibly symbolic and emotional and as someone who absolutely ADORES All Might and what he stands for in the story, this felt like a cool balm after seeing Deku tragically reject his bento box a good few chapters ago. I have a few more opinions about symbolism, and how I think Deku's generation of heroes is going to stray from the old gen, but I think that's a discussion for another time.

Thanks for reading 'til the end!